Aspinwall Council adopted an ordinance on October 12 banning all outside trade, commerce and business from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight to 7 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The vote was 5-2 with Council President Tim McLaughlin and Councilwoman Mary Hancock abstaining.
The ordinance has been under discussion for months, with the idea being discussed with the Borough Planning Commission two years ago. That discussion focused on regulations governing noise and delivery hours. Council talks have been intensifying for about eight months now.
Following input from several businesses, the council added a provision allowing businesses to obtain a special permit to stay open beyond legal hours for special activities.
“This is a long process,” said David Borland, vice president of the council. “I’m not sure what the usual time frame is for passing the order, but the first discussions were in February. I believe we’ve given people ample time to comment on both, and I feel there are reasonable hours for this to stop.
McLaughlin said he supports having laws on the books that would allow businesses to “tone it down,” but opposes forcing them to move everything in-house.
“There should be a certain time when people are asked to keep their voices down. I think that’s right. I didn’t think it was in the best interest to ask them to come in for no reason. I think everyone should consider it carefully. We have a good council. That’s where I don’t see other people seeing it.”
County officials and residents had called the proposal a “business hours” measure, but board documents recently described it as a “business hours” ordinance.
Borland said police will enforce the ordinance. He declined to assume special patrols in the business district after 10:30 p.m. and midnight.
Councilman Jeff Harris said, “It’s reasonable to expect to have a realistic measure of when things can happen and keep things quiet in the business district.” “Someone can call after 10:30 p.m. and the business should be held accountable for noise and whoever. That’s the spirit. As more businesses come to town and businesses grow, they know what they’re doing here. This should have been done in the last council. It didn’t start with what’s being said here.”
Sherry Rice, owner of Luke’s and Mike’s Front Porch, said at previous meetings she felt the ordinance targeted her business.
She did not address the council on Oct. 12, but repeated earlier comments that her restaurant was singled out after the vote.
“I think this device is meant for a business,” she said. “There is a foreign restaurant here.”
The ordinance states that it applies to “all foreign trade, commerce and business activities within the commercial zoning districts of the district.”
The members of the council said that no one was singled out in the previous meetings.
Rice said she doesn’t expect the rule to affect her business.
“I followed him all summer out of respect,” Rice said. “I realize I’m close to my neighbors, so out of respect I don’t go those hours without any rules. It’s been a really slow year…I’m so tired of hearing about it. I’m just going to go to work.”
Board officials hosted several discussions about the rule and reached out to businesses for input several times throughout the year.
Rice proposed at the council’s October workshop meeting to move the opening hours of the overnight business ban by half an hour to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and to 12:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Hancock said she thought the council went along with Rice’s proposal. But the council did not make any changes to the rules it first announced in September.
“Today’s legislation was not that planned, agreed upon,” she said. “If everyone can agree on a time, that’s the best time for people to shut down. It seemed like everyone had an agreement and that’s not what ended up being voted on tonight.”
She also cited a petition with nearly 200 signatures from residents opposing the ordinance.
Resident Steve Kochanowski said that from Sept. 28 to Oct. 10, he and a couple others circulated petitions to residents and businesses opposing the proposal.
“I’m afraid if they try to do that, will there be anything else that says residents can’t be out on the porch at midnight on a Saturday night?” he said. “It’s a slippery slope.
“These businesses are recovering from Covid and coming out of all that and HR issues. Now you’re putting something else on top of that.
Kochanowski said he brought the petition to the district office before the Oct. 12 council meeting.
Michael DiVittorio is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can reach Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@triblive.com or on Twitter. .
